“Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Verse 11 sets forth the characteristics of those who produce the three requests for which Paul prayed:

“that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,”

“that you may approve the things that are excellent,”

“that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.”

Those who have these characteristics in their lives will produce fruit.

“being filled with the fruits of righteousness”

“Being” indicates this is something we receive. We receive it by God’s grace. We do not earn it or work for it.

“Fruits” is singular in the Greek. This may refer to the filling of the Holy Spirit. This is the produce of righteousness, the harvest.

“Of righteousness” means produced by Christ and, so, supernatural. The word “of” indicates source: this is imputed righteousness (righteousness that God unilaterally gives). The believer has a righteous stand before God, resulting from being clothed in Christ’s righteousness, and this ought to produce fruit for God. Practical righteousness is to flow from what God has done.

“Filled with the fruits of uprightness which come through Jesus Christ”: The term of Christian growth and development is the status of uprightness before God, yet it is not a status that one achieves by oneself; instead, it is begun by God (God is the source for the fruit produced in our lives). God has given us imputed righteousness (legal righteousness which He put in us) so that we might produce practical righteousness.

Such inner qualities, partially described in Galatians 5:22-23, will be evident to others. The fruit of the Spirit comes through Jesus Christ, for it is His life lived out through believers. Such fruit magnifies God, not self.

PRINCIPLE:

God is the source of the fruit produced in our lives.

APPLICATION:

God has given us imputed righteousness (legal righteousness that He put in us) so that we might produce practical righteousness. Do we recognize the “harvest” of God’s work upon us? Do we praise Him for what He has done?